Marine Stewardship Council Standards

Marine Stewardship Council · Wild-capture fisheries and seafood supply chain

MSC operates two standards: the Fisheries Standard, which assesses whether a wild-capture fishery is sustainable, and the Chain of Custody Standard, which ensures certified seafood is traceable and segregated from non-certified product through every step of the supply chain. Only certified organizations may use the blue MSC ecolabel.

Key points

• Any business that takes ownership of certified seafood before final consumer sale needs Chain of Custody certification.
• Certified and non-certified product must be identifiable and segregated at all times.
• Purchase records, sales records, and lot identification must reconcile in a mass balance / traceability exercise.
• Ecolabel artwork requires license approval before use on packaging or marketing.